


The Night Before the Day the World Changed

by abbeytre3



Series: Stubborn Sweethearts [1]
Category: Tin Man (2007)
Genre: Introspection, M/M, Possibly Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 05:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8358709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abbeytre3/pseuds/abbeytre3
Summary: The night before they take down the Witch, Cain does some thinking.





	

It all started, well, Cain supposed that it all began with the leather coats. It was quite easy, simple really, to dismiss the fleeting touches, jumping heart, trembling fingers, as adrenaline, as cold, as a desire to grip his gun and send Zero down to hell, as anything but… well that was something, something he wasn’t quite ready to say. 

Seeing him in tattered clothing, a striped shirt that was the only thing with a chance of surviving a fall, with a half a brain that couldn’t stay focused, it was, well, it certainly wasn’t easy, but it was easier. Even with that half a brain, Cain was saved, when he was helpless, and almost dead, or surrounded on all sides, or almost spotted, Cain was saved and fought for and thrown down, and it made him a bit breathless to make him perfectly honest.

But the clothing helped, reminded him that he was a headcase, a possible criminal, except he wasn’t. Raw proved that, Glitch was Ambrose, someone who gave up his brain for the kingdom, was so incredibly brave, that watching the scene play out made Cain’s gut twist, made him impossibly angry, and well, in the tiniest corner of his heart, made him a tiniest bit proud that Glitch was his. But he wasn’t, which if Cain keeps mistaking, could lead to a not very proud slip of the tongue. But the clothing helped, because he wasn’t Ambrose at that moment, but he was still brave and selfless and tried his best so does it really all matter whether he had half or whole of a brain?

Well the leather coat certainly answered that. Still high on adrenaline from the brief scuffle with the longcoats, seeing Glitch slip on the coat and nimbly button it up made him pause, made his breath catch and there he was, painfully aware that no, it didn’t matter, and yes, he was painfully in… well in something with his… friend, and knew that, well, DG would certainly tease for one.

His saving grace is and always was, Glitch… glitching out. Whenever Cain stared too long, or his voice embarrassingly cracked, Glitch would assume that he had missed a period of time, or not be able to poke fun for too long before he forgot. And he knew, he knew, that he shouldn’t be encouraging it, shouldn’t be thankful for lapses in memory, but he was, he was with cold relief. Because if Glitch knew, then everyone would know, because Glitch wanted everyone to know what he knew while he still knew it.

And then Cain would have to leave. He would join up with the resistance maybe, not leave the fight, no, but maybe leave the group. Rejection would hurt, and he would be able to deal with it, with a lot of pain to longcoats maybe, and besides if no one reminded him, Glitch would eventually forget too. But DG wouldn’t, and Raw certainly would not. While Raw might keep to making cryptic comments and sad eyes, DG wouldn’t, oh DG wouldn’t. She would poke and prod and pity and try to fix and blame herself, because to her, if she can’t fix it, it must have been her fault right? And he cannot deal with fixing someone else when his own mentality was so focused on one thing, two things, that adding a third just might break him. The tin suit did no good to anyone who was ever in one, and certainly no good for him, he survived with his sanity by the skin of his teeth.

But that leather coat. Glitch must have found a longcoat that was slightly smaller than him because it hugged him unfairly. Cain had resigned himself with dealing with longing, but to see just what Glitch might look in something not in tatters, still with his wild hair and everything that made him Glitch, but with more, it hit him hard. He stared so long that Glitch apologized for glitching, then realized he wasn’t, then wrapped his skinny arms around Cain with the babbling explanation that he must still be freezing up from the fall. Which naturally, only made him stiffen more, then carefully extract himself from Glitch’s arms with the gruff words in a far too low tone, “Just thinking.”

And DG noticed. Of course she noticed. From the first moment, even while chasing the tutor. How Cain kept sneaking glances, stares, at Glitch, at how every time Glitch even slightly stumbled, Cain was there with a hand, an arm, and how he was always there, right next to Glitch.

Cain braced himself, but he didn’t avoid her. Then she would give him a hurt stare, ask why he was abandoning her when everyone else did. So he stayed and braced, for the explosion of inquires. She didn’t… well didn’t quite deliver on that promise. Late one night, the night before the eclipse in fact, she made her rounds and Cain knew that he was going to be the first goodbye.

DG flopped down on the grass next to Cain’s watchful figure, and stared at him. He could feel her eyes and knew it was time, they might never have this moment again. When he shifted to face her, her eyes were wide and he wondered if she’d have finally blinked had he not turned.

She just took a deep breath and searched his eyes, his face, for something, he didn’t know what but could probably hazard a pretty fine guess. Finally, she spoke, “You’ll take care of him, right? If, if it doesn’t go well, you’ll take care of him.”

And damn him, damn him to hell, he still couldn’t say it. Not with Jeb’s pain so clear in his eyes, or with the ring clenching his finger, he couldn’t say a damn word about what he knew was happening. Because it had happened before, and even though this was different, so different, a freefall instead of a gentle journey, he knew this feeling. So, he just replied, “Where’d that optimism go, kid? We’ll talk on the other side.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> I saw Tin Man, and am obsessed, so here I am, contributing. Any comments would be greatly appreciated!


End file.
